South Africa to issue licences for shale gas exploration: Zuma

Sep 02, 2015 12:00 AM

The South African government will soon be issuing licences for the exploration of shale gas drilling through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, President Jacob Zuma has said. Zuma was speaking in Pretoria on the occasion of the presentation of credentials by a number of new foreign heads of mission accredited to South Africa."It is this government’s hope that we, together with your respective governments, will find practical opportunities to enhance the economic opportunities the shale gas sector has to present," Zuma said.

Zuma quoted recent estimates as saying South Africa has eight largest shale gas reserves in the world and the Karoo area in the Northern Cape Province is believed to be holding up to 390-trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves.

But Zuma did not say when the government will issue the licences for shale gas exploration or under what conditions these licences will be issued.

The exploration of shale gas is expected to ease the worsening energy shortage confronting the country which has been hard hit by constant power outages for nine months running.

"We continue to pursue the development of an energy mix as energy security is critical to economic growth and social development," Zuma said.

"We are also determined to see through much needed infrastructure development programmes at continental level which will integrate African economies," Zuma said.

South Africa, he said, is open for business and is part of a growing continent, which has nine of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Since the adoption of the National Infrastructure Plan in 2012, which laid the blue print for the transformation of South Africa’s economic landscape, the country has embarked on a massive infrastructure roll-out drive.

However, environmentalists have expressed strong opposition to the government’s move to explore shale gas. The Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) says shale gas reserves, globally, have been overstated and world leaders are misinformed in this regard.

There have been concerns about the effect the exploration activities will have on water quality and availability in areas where water is scarce.

The International Affairs Institute (IAI) and OCP Policy Center recently launched a new book: The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics.

The book is an in-depth analysis of some of the fastest moving gas markets, attempting to define the trends of a resource that will have a decisive role in shaping the global economy and modelling the geopolitical dynamics in the next decades.

Some of the top scholars in the energy sector have contributed to this volume such as Gonzalo Escribano, Director Energy and Climate Change Programme, Elcano Royal Institute, Madrid, Coby van der Linde, Director Clingendael International Energy Programme, The Hague and Houda Ben Jannet Allal, General Director Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME), Paris.

For only €32.50 you have your own copy of The Future of Natural Gas. Markets and Geopolitics. Click here to order now!